Ilkley is home to around 15,000 people (Image: Martin Priestley via Getty Images)
A town with “more millionaires than anywhere” is home to around 15,000. And with more than 200 independent shops as well as cafes and restaurants, there’s plenty to keep them busy. Local businesswoman Keeley Hall is brimming with pride for Ilkley’s charm, catering to both the West Yorkshire town’s residents and the influx of visitors.
“It’s a lovely town with a lot of independent shops and great places to get a coffee – and most are dog-friendly,” she said. Owner of the long-standing Time and Time Again, Keeley’s shop on Church Street offers an array of clothing, gifts, and accessories, and has been a fixture in the community for nearly three decades. She says Ilkley is a place full of wealth and upscale homes but maintains its quintessential northern character, which is often described as grounded and “no-nonsense”.
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Georgina Richmond and Gareth Heaton of Community Cutlery (Image: CHARLIE SWINBOURNE)
“They say Ilkley has more millionaires than anywhere else,” Keeley says, though the accuracy of this statement remains uncertain. “Ilkley is lovely and has a really nice, chatty vibe. If you go in all the shops, people will have a natter.”
Locals are always ready for a good old chinwag there, as Yorkshire Live found during a visit.
At his eponymous high-end jewellery store on The Grove, dubbed a ‘promenade’ despite being miles from the coast, Jeremy Bloomfield echoed the sentiment that ‘quality independents’ are the lifeblood of Ilkley’s bustling town centre, which thrives with activity and visitors when the weather is nice.
“Yes, there are coach trips and we have customers from all over Yorkshire and Lancashire,” he says. “The big pull is Betty’s (the popular ‘Cafe Tea Rooms’ on The Grove).”
Jeremy has his own favourite spots, including Raymond Town Menswear; Shoe Heaven on The Grove; perfume retailer Beau Monde in Church Street, and ‘fantastic butcher’ Lishman’s of Ilkley in Leeds Road, an area of town which said to be ‘filling up’ with new businesses.
“Ilkley is a beautiful spa town,” he adds. “I love the nature, the countryside, White Wells and Ilkley Moor. It’s beautiful. The Grove with its wide pavement is fantastic and is a safe place.”
Shop owner Keeley Hall of menswear and gift shop Time & Time Again (Image: Yorkshire Live)
Shoppers Colin and Julie, who were visiting Ilkley from their home in nearby Keighley, said they loved the town’s vibe and “nice atmosphere”.
“You don’t get shops like this in Keighley,” they joked. “Ilkley is one of the most expensive places to live; it has a nice atmosphere and is a bit like Harrogate.”
Colin added: “There’s independent coffee shops and restaurants.”
There is, like many towns and cities, no shortage of charity shops which are popular with resellers and bargain hunters.
They include Scope, Age UK, Mind, Yorkshire Cancer Research, Martin House children’s hospice, Shelter, Oxfam, Cancer Research UK, and British Heart Foundation.
Leeds Road, a shopping district in Ilkley, Yorkshire, is experiencing a revival, with locals even dubbing it the ‘East Village’ due to its eclectic mix of quirky shops, vibrant arts scene and trendy cafes.
Gareth Heaton and Georgina Richmond, who run Community Cutlery, a kitchenware shop offering knife-sharpening services, are at the heart of this Leeds Road renaissance.
The couple, who relocated from Brighton, have fallen in love with Ilkley’s thriving arts scene and believe that Leeds Road has its own unique vibe, boasting a rich cultural scene, excellent cafes and independent shops.
In February, acclaimed Yorkshire artist Claire Baxter opened her new gallery on Leeds Road.
“Locals refer to Leeds Road as East Village. Leeds Road has become an area for independents and is a little community,” says Georgina.
Ilkley continues to draw visitors from across the UK and beyond. Christopher, visiting from Middlesbrough for the first time in over 30 years, was struck by the improvements made over the past three decades.
The Grove Bookshop is popular (Image: Yorkshire Live)
“It looks better. The buildings look better, and the pavement is wider. From what I have seen so far, the shopfronts look better.”
However, not everyone shares this optimism. Moira, 81, a resident of Ilkley for nearly 50 years, feels that the town’s retail scene has slightly declined.
“Shopping? It’s not as good as it used to be,” she said. “Lots of shops have closed.”
But she added of the town: “I love it. I have lovely neighbours and I love the shops, although I heard the last bank is due to close,” she says. “I like The Little Teahouse and Thirty Nine Kitchen. And look at the queue outside Betty’s – that’s a nice place.”
Betty’s is hugely popular (Image: Yorkshire Live)
Sarah Brookfield-Almond, the manager of Ilkley Business Improvement District, boasts a surprisingly low vacancy rate of 6% for shop units, comfortably under the national average of 14%.
“A lot of new businesses have opened in the last two years, mainly independents,” she explains, mentioning the cluster of ‘hidden gems’ across courtyards, backstreets and thoroughfares such as Skipton Road, Leeds Road, Crescent Courtyard, Railway Road and Little Lane.
Ilkley BID is rolling out a grand plan to deck the A65 with flags, signalling a warm welcome to visitors and shedding light on the vibrant business community there.
Meanwhile, back on The Grove, admiration for Ilkley continues to bloom amongst locals, as the crowd swells outside the ever-popular Betty’s.
Shoppers love to flock to the hundreds of shops (Image: Yorkshire Live)
Chatting for 10 minutes, Moira says: “I like to stop at the bandstand to watch people singing and dancing – it’s a wonderful place. You can sit there and meet people.”
She said Ilkley had previously been seen as somewhat ‘snobby’, but that such snobbery has gone away over time.
“I think people are kinder nowadays, but there is a lot of money in Ilkley,” she said. With a laugh, Moira waved goodbye, pausing to add: “I hope I’ve entertained you.”